Comments on: College Optional

By: Rachelle Disque

Rachelle Disque — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 09:19:28 +0000

I Adore the way in which you write…thanks for posting

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By: Thinking About Thinking: Most Popular Blog Posts – November 2009 « Thinking About Thinking

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:22:51 +0000

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By: Daddy

Daddy — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:34:32 +0000

I think the bigger point of this write-up is not letting your resume/background puts a limitation on what you can or cannot do.

By: kriz_wong

kriz_wong — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:11:27 +0000

AWESOME Article. I actually have some perspective on this topic as I am a 20 something that has worked in the high-tech sector (with pretty good success) that is now returning to University.

So my perspective is this. Success is not based on the formal education you have; however, it MAY limit your salary potential unless you make a start-up. I worked for Dell USA, Canada, and International launching Call Centres and was doing awesome there; however reached my glass ceiling without a a college or university paper. It is unfortunate since I worked with MBA’s and was able to keep up with the best of them. Oh well. (P.S. I did 1/2 a year of pre-med at a prestigious school before dropping out and doing this)

I now have returned to University @ a really good business school. The biggest thing is that this will increase my earning potential and strategic agility going forward. Additionally, it provides me with a HUGE networking base that I can leverage for future success. I make a last impression on my professors because I challenge them on their textbook views and ideology (which is sometimes old-world values and not the environment I have worked in). I find that this is HUGELY satisfying for me but has it draw backs.

-I needed to leave my previous job. I now work for another fortune 500 but in a less demanding role and only part-time (20-30 hours a week).
-I have little to NO social life or time to spend with my family. (huge dissat)
-Earning potential in the long run might be increased but in the short-term it is much lower
-Stress is very prevalent as time management is hectic when priorities clash (work deliverables vs School deliverables vs Family deliverables) Basically the Work/Life/School balance is very hectic and hard to get use to.

Overall, I think it is a challenge but is also hugely rewarding. Ultimately this is not to only get a paper anymore but rather have me derive my own theories and tactics in business. The “consultation” from industry experts without paying per hour is crucial to my development (at least in my perspective).

BTW if you are going to do this you need to get a Blackberry. I would be lost without that damn calendar/reminders/memos/tasks/contacts/etc.

Anyways, just my perspective.

By: Des

Des — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:46:38 +0000

Larry, given the passion in the responses, clearly your subject hit a nerve! You propose that one could call the CEO’s on your list “outliers.” Some of them are, in fact, “10,000 hour outliers” as defined by Malcolm Gladwell in his third book, “Outliers; The Story of Success.” Gladwell details, for example, how Gates “got his eduction” by sneaking out of the house and heading to the University of Washington computer center from 3 AM to 6 AM every day.

But I’d say the best proof of the points you make is the success of your two portfolio CEOs.

Des

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Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:12:35 +0000

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Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:32:31 +0000

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By: rudy

rudy — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:44:01 +0000

Phil, I’m going to have to disagree on that one. If anything, I see an unusual weight placed on university “prestige”. Most i-banks/hedge funds/vcs, law firms, etc. almost only hire students with a degree from a small subset of schools. It doesn’t help that most are located on the East Cost, so it’s a feedback loop that reinforces the status of certain schools.

By: rudy

rudy — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:27:46 +0000

Yes. Less costly and more narrowly focused schools. However, I also include “pre med” and “pre law” in there as well. In other countries, law is a Bachelor’s degree completed in 4 years. In the US, it requires a BA/BS and is a JD degree. While that has advantages (wider scope of educational base for those of us who became JDs w/ engineering degrees) for most students it adds 3 years of cost burden vs. the foreign equivalent. The same thing for MDs, in other countries it’s a ~6yr professional program vs. 4 + 4 here in the US. That’s two years of unnecessary cost.

The second part is that I’d replace those eliminated years with more apprenticeships. Medicine has a residency requirement. To get a professional license engineers have to work under a PE for a certain number of years. Teaching licenses usually have a classroom time component to them. Most, if not all, law students work summers. So, the value of learning under someone with experience can’t be dismissed. I think rather than burdening students with costly classes unrelated to their field of interest, it would be better for them to spend that time working with an active professional.